Hi Again Folks - Looking for Cat Sitter on STX

Hip Crip: We have missed you! Would love to hear how your settling in has gone and if you had any trouble with registering your van! Hope all is well.

hello hipcrip
I know someone on STX. I am sending you a private email.

Hi East Ender!

Nice to hear from you. *grin*

Since I never got around to posting a move story, I though the least I could dok was to do a piece about what I learned in my first two years on STX. I've started it already, and should definitely be able to finish by my official anniversary (Memorial Day weekend).

In brief, we are settling in well. The renovations on our home (to make the roof as hurricane-resistant as we can, make the house crip-friendly and give it a workable floor plan) are completed, and we've pretty much found everything we needed here.

Had zero problems getting our family vehicle registered, but it's not a van; it's a three-door 2001 Saturn coupe with hand controls. (There is a third door on the driver's side that opens 90 degrees in the direction opposite the driver's door that gives acces to a back seat -- this allowed me to transfer to the driver's seat, where I would sit sideways to break down my wheelchair and load it into the backseat before swinging around, closing both doors and driving.) The local DMV inspector didn't even notice the hand controls during his first inspection (when we arrived on island). Actually, he didn't do more than a quick glance at the car before issuing us our plates and sticker, probably because the car was relatively new, had an unexpired inspection sticker on it from Virginia, and had less than 14,000 miles on it.

Unfortunately, I had to give up driving last year as my upper body strength is decreasing and I'm no longer able to safely make hard turns with the equipment I have, and there isn't anywhere on island that can provide/maintain the adaptive equipment I'd need. Even if I could get the right equipment, I'm no longer strong enough to load and unload my wheelchair on my own so, much to my annoyance, I've reached the point at which I really would need a modified van in order to drive anywhere on my own. I don't feel safe shipping a modified van over here since there's no one on island who is trained to repair and maintain the specific adaptive equipment I'd use. (Heck, there isn/'t anyone within 1000 miles who is certified to fix my current wheelchair!) Fortunately, I really don't need to have a vhecile I can drive as my loveable hubby doesn't work outside the house and is therefore available and more than happy to drive me anywhere I want/need to go whenever the need/desire arises. (I am very, very fortunate, aren't I?)

More on the first years of being a Crucian Crip to come. *lol*

Thanks for asking, East Ender.

hello hipcrip,
You mentioned there's no one within 1000 miles who is certified to fix your wheelchair.....I think I remember reading an article recently in the Avis, about a guy who repairs wheelchairs. Does anyone remember this article? I think the guy is affiliated with Lutheran Social Services, but I don't remember for sure. Maybe someone else read the same article and retained more information than I did!

islandjoan,

You are such a dear to offer more info that might help me out!

My wheelchair repair situation is caused by the type of wheelchair I have, not so much from the lack of good folks on the island who have skills in repairing typical medical equipment.

Just like my particular health issues, having this wheelchair is just one of these weird situations in which I end up being in a one in a million set of circumstances. Let me explain...

My cuurent everyday chair is called an iGlide -- it is one of two wheelchair designs created by the same guy who invented the Segueway scooter. The iGlide is a new type of chair that uses something called manual-assist technology. It can be used just like a manual wheelchair, but it is also equipped with a computerized motor that I can turn on to help me propel myself up inclines and across uneven terrain (like grassy areas) without expending any more energy than I use to push myself across level, paved surfaces.

Because the axles of the main wheels on the chair plug directly into the computerized processing units, any repairs need to be made by folks with special training. I had a great repair guy in the Washington DC area -- he helped me get through a series of bugs that needed to be worked out right after I got my first chair. (This included one hysterically funny incident in which I ended up going around in circles backwards at a high rate of speed in the lobby of my building when someone's cell phone service interfered with the computer in the chair. I *swear* this is a true story!)

The chair is awesome, and I was fortunate to be one of the first 10 people who owned one when they came out on the market in 2003. Unfortunately, the company that makes the iGlide decided to discontinue production of it right after we moved down here -- after only 100 or so iGlides were out on the market -- so they could concentrate on the other wheelchair they developed around the same time, the iBot. (The iBot ROCKS -- it can go up and down stairs and stand up on its back wheels so the user is at eye level with you standees and so we crips can do things like reach high shelves, etc.) Fortunately, the manufacturer is going to support us iGlide owners with their great customer service for a few more years -- in fact, I just received a new battery within one week of my call to them -- but I will need to get my chair to the continental US in order for any major repairs to take place.

So the issue of having no one locally to do wheelchair repairs is hinged totally on one more example of my bizarre ability to find myself in some pretty unique circumstances not for a lack of talented and helpful Virgin Islanders. *shrug* It's certainly made for an interesting life.

Thank you so much, islandjoan, for jumping right in (again!) to help me out -- this type of neighbor-helping-neighbor community spirit that makes living here on STX one of the best experiences of my life.

--HC

Some of the last remaining info on the iGlide chairs can be found at:

http://www.atnet.org/news/ 2003/feb03/021501.htm

http://72.14.207.104/search?q=cache:0HTHv7KsSZcJ:prd-ccp-ind.be.jnj.com/uk/iglide/index.html+iglide+ibot&hl=en&ct=clnk&cd=1

The second link leads to a Google cache of an original web page that has been taken down from the original web site. As a result, some/all of the images and links on this page may not work.

If anyone would like more info on the iBot, check out:

http://www.independencenow.com/home.html

The video is a must-see for anyone who is lucky enough to have a broadband connection or the patience to get it to load on a dialup connection.